Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Golden Tips
Tea Description:
Our second flush ‘Arya Ruby Black Tea’ is a classic example of Darjeeling summer royalty. The well-made leaves are wiry and have a delightful appearance with plenty of silver tips. Manufactured to perfection, the tea boasts of an immensely complex character with abundance of muscatel flavor. The fruit-flowery notes flush your mouth with a sweetness that is pleasant and comforting. The aroma scents of rich caramel with a slightly woody character. The nose is sharp and slightly fruity which resonates muscatel richness. Overall, the tea has a fantastic texture, a balanced and rounded body with an extremely smooth flavor that leaves a sweet lingering aftertaste in your mouth. An excellent limited edition Darjeeling second flush black tea.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Having tried Arya Ruby Darjeeling teas in the past, I was pretty confident that I’d enjoy this. It’s one of my favorite Darjeeling teas out there.
And this is indeed lovely! Sweet, delectably fruity and delightfully floral!
To brew this tea, I used my Breville One-Touch. I measured 2 bamboo scoops of tea into the basket of my tea maker and added 500ml of freshly filtered water. I set the temperature for 195°F (my go-to temperature for Darjeeling teas unless they look really green, then I might lower it to 190°F or even 185°F.) I set the timer for 2 1/2 minutes and I let my tea maker do the rest.
A few minutes later, the tea is done! Mmm!
The sip starts out with some what I’d describe as a medley of floral and fruit notes. By mid-sip, hints of fruity muscatel shine through. Subtle yet lovely notes of grape! A mild astringency toward the finish.
I’d categorize this as a medium bodied tea, it’s got a little more texture to it than a typical Darjeeling, but it certainly isn’t as hearty as say, an Assam tea. It would make an excellent afternoon tea!
A really lovely Darjeeling. I’d recommend this to any tea drinker, and especially those who might not have liked Darjeeling in the past. I believe this Darjeeling could change their opinion of Darjeeling!
Giddapahar Muscatel Darjeeling Second Flush Black Tea from Golden Tips
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black (Darjeeling)
Where to Buy: Golden Tips
Tea Description:
An excellent second flush Darjeeling with an abundance of natural muscatel. A handpicked tea from the Giddhpahar tea estate in Darjeeling with gentle fruity notes, a rich aroma and a complete rounded flavor which is a defining characteristic of premium summer Darjeeling teas. A must-have for anytime of the day.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Oh, love! LOVE! This has the muscatel that I adore!
This is an excellent Darjeeling, one of the best that I’ve tried. The flavor is strong – this is a stronger tasting Darjeeling than the typical light-to-medium bodied Darjeeling. I’d categorize this as a medium-to-full bodied Darjeeling!
It has a really nice, well rounded flavor. It almost tastes too strong and well rounded for a Darjeeling because I typically think of them as crisper and lighter teas. This is much more robust and satisfying. I daresay, it would make a nice morning cuppa. Typically, I think of Darjeeling as an afternoon tea.
And it’s remarkably smooth too! This doesn’t have the astringency that I normally experience with a Darjeeling.
So, if the first few paragraphs of this review indicate anything to you, it should be that this is NOT your typical Darjeeling! Not by a long shot.
The flavor starts off sweet with notes of wood and grape. There is some of that Darjeeling ‘crispness’ right at the start, but as it moves to mid-sip, the flavor develops and becomes a richer experience for the palate. The grape flavor intensifies! By the finish, I’m getting a really lovely muscatel finish, but without a strong astringency. This has all that is really GREAT about a 2nd flush Darjeeling and none of the bad!
This is best hot. I think that this is true of most Darjeeling tea. However, I do recommend letting it cool for a few minutes before you start sipping. I find that the muscatel really shines through best after it’s had time to cool for about three or four minutes.
This Darjeeling is one that EVERY tea drinker should try.
Thurbo Moonlight Second Flush Darjeeling Black Tea from Golden Tips
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black (Darjeeling)
Where to Buy: Golden Tips
Tea Description:
Every season the Thurbo Moonlight has been a favorite among our connoisseur friends from across the world. This Moonlight summer black tea is at part the best and is characteristic of fluffy brown-black leaves with extravagant silver tips. The aroma is sweet and flowery with a bright golden liquoring cup. The flavor is extremely fruity and flushes your mouth with its presence, without any sort of astringency.An outstanding second flush Darjeeling.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I have enjoyed many different Darjeeling teas during my years as a tea reviewer. If asked whether I prefer a first or second flush, my answer will always be second flush because I love that muscatel flavor and second flush tends to be the flush to drink if you want muscatel. (Although I have found several first flush teas that surprised me with their muscatel notes!) And while I’ve enjoyed many first flush Darjeelings – loved them even! – second flush is still my favorite flush when it comes to Darjeeling.
And this Second Flush Thurbo Moonlight is an example of why I love the second flush so much!
To brew this tea, I decided to use my Breville. I measured 2 bamboo scoops of tea into the basket and poured 500ml of water into the kettle. I set the timer for 2 1/2 minutes and I adjusted the temperature to 195°F. With Darjeeling teas, I find that a slightly lower than boiling temperature brings out the best flavor in the tea. When a higher temperature is used, the tea becomes somewhat bitter and a bit more astringent than I want. The lower temperature does much to keep both of these to a minimum without sacrificing flavor.
The tea brewed to a beautiful, aromatic golden amber. I can smell the grape-like notes – lovely!
The sip starts out sweet with lovely grape-y notes. As the sip progresses, I taste mellow earthy/woodsy tones. These are a nice contrast to the sweetness of the grape. The sip finishes sweet with almost a sugared grape note – this muscatel has a very strong sweetness to it. The sip is very smooth from start to finish and there is no bitterness and very little astringency.
This is one of the nicest Darjeeling teas I’ve tasted in a long time – and I’ve tasted quite a few recently and have enjoyed many of them. This one sets itself apart as exceptional from those that I’ve tried in the past few weeks! If you’re a fan of Darjeeling, you should try this. If you’re someone who is less familiar with Darjeeling but looking for a few good ones to become more familiar with Darjeeling – add this one to the list!
Midday Flight Black Tea Blend from Tippy’s Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Tippy’s Tea
Tea Description:
Tippy’s own unique afternoon blend. Drink it in the afternoon or it is really great as an everyday tea. Smooth and well balanced with malty undertones.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I’ve tried a couple of Tippy’s Teas now, and I have to say that I’m very happy with what I’ve tried so far! This Midday Flight is lovely!
When I think “black tea,” generally, I think “morning tea” because I usually enjoy the black teas early in the day and by ‘midday’ I’m usually switching to either green or Oolong tea. But, every once in a while, I want the rich, rewarding flavor of a black tea in the afternoon.
Today is one such afternoon. I need something to give me a little more of a boost (read: caffeine) than I get from a green or Oolong tea, so it’s black tea to the rescue! Specifically, this Midday Flight from Tippy’s Tea.
This is rich and flavorful and very smooth. The combination of Ceylon, Keemun, Assam and Darjeeling is wonderful and I like that I can taste ‘components’ of each tea. I taste the rich, malty flavor of the Assam. I taste a slight smoky character from the Keemun. I taste the smooth, even tone of the Ceylon. And I taste the light, crisp note of the Darjeeling.
The sip starts out with notes of malt and smoke. It starts out with a strong, earthy flavor. There is no mistaking that I’m sipping on black tea the moment I start sipping. It’s not aggressive though. It’s approach is smooth. By mid-sip, I pick up on wine-like notes with fruity notes of grape and citrus. The earthy qualities remain throughout the sip. Beneath these notes, I taste a light sweetness that is honey-esque with very subtle molasses notes.
The finish is dry but not overly astringent. There is some astringency and it does build – the first few sips were barely astringent and now that i’m more than halfway through my cup, I am noting more astringency than I experienced at the start. But it’s not a bitter or jarring astringency. It is as though my taste buds grabbed a little towel and patted my tongue dry so that it could be ready for another sip.
Very satisfying. I’m enjoying this tea immensely. It’s rich and flavorful and very smooth. One of the best Afternoon blends I’ve ever encountered!
Organic Okayti Silver Needle Second Flush Darjeeling White Tea from Golden Tips
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White (Darjeeling)
Where to Buy: Golden Tips
Tea Description:
Handpicked from the most delicate and tender portions of the tea bush, early morning and just before sunrise, this Okayti White is a class apart. The fluffy silver needles are manufactured to perfection and display an opulence only found in certain select White teas. The nose to the infusion is superb with a delicate character combined with grassy notes which follow sweet hints of honey. The liquor is pale and almost colourless. The flowery character in the flavor is extremely complex and perfectly fruity. With no grassiness at all, the flavor keeps on developing in the mouth once you keep rolling it for a few seconds till it peaks and flushes your mouth with a unique sweetness. If you love white tea, you should not miss this.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Oh, this is a lovely white Darjeeling! It seems like the Darjeeling region focuses primarily on their black tea production, but I find that the white, green and Oolong offerings that I’ve tried to be just as delightful – if not more so! – as the black teas and so when I do discover a white Darjeeling like this one from Golden Tips, I’m a very happy sipper!
To brew this tea, I used my 2 cup teapot (it’s a little ceramic teapot) and I ‘eyeballed’ a measurement of leaves that is approximately 2 bamboo scoops. (These leaves are very fluffy and difficult to measure with an actual bamboo scoop. So I must imagine that my hand is the bamboo scoop.) Then I poured water heated to 170°F into the teapot, put the lid on the teapot and let the tea steep for 3 1/2 minutes. Then I strained the tea into my brand new mug that my daughter gave me for Christmas.
And ah! This is truly a delight to sip.
The flavor is delicate – it is a white tea! – but not as delicate as you might expect! This has a stronger, more assertive flavor than a Chinese Silver Needle, but it’s certainly not as assertive as another leaf type.
It’s sweet with a very pleasant, thick texture. The description above suggests floral notes, and I am tasting those, but I’m also tasting delicious notes of melon and sweet grape. The sweetness comes not only from these fruit notes but also a honey-esque sweetness. There is an enjoyable balance between the fruity notes, floral tones and honeyed sweetness and I like how these play on the palate.
And this is a white tea! That means multiple infusions!
The second cup is darker in color. The first cup was quite light, almost colorless! This time there’s more of a light yellow-amber color to the cup. The flavor is stronger too, but I’m finding that balance between the fruit, floral and honey notes to remain. Each of those flavors is stronger with the second infusion but the flavors are still balanced. The texture seems a little thinner than the first cup and the best way I can think of to describe this difference is that the first cup was almost “creamy” in the consistency although it didn’t taste creamy. The texture of this cup isn’t as creamy.
With later infusions, I noticed the flavors change a little. The honey notes softened somewhat and I started to pick up on distant nutty tones. The tea is still sweet, just not as honey-like. I started to pick up on orchid notes. I could taste floral notes throughout, but I couldn’t really distinguish the flower I was tasting and as I continued to steep these leaves I began to taste more defined notes of orchid and maybe even a hint of honeysuckle.
The grape notes started to become more wine-like to me, too. Like a gentle white wine, but not such a dry or astringent finish as I’d experience from a white wine. Quite lovely!
If you’re one who tends to avoid white teas because you find that they taste too delicate for you, try a Darjeeling white tea like this Okayti Silver Needle. I think you’ll find the flavor more pronounced and much more satisfying!